Abstract
Introduction: AIDS-related death rates have declined due to antiretroviral therapy (ART); however, non-AIDS related deaths have proportionally increased. Hypothesis: Metabolic factors and cocaine use are predictors of mortality in MASH, an HIV infected cohort of adults in Miami. Methods: We obtained consent and collected anthropometric, demographics, drug, and tobacco use, CD4 cell count and HIV viral load from 487 HIV-infected participants, followed for a median of two years. Death certificates were obtained from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics. Cocaine use was obtained from questionnaires and urine toxicology. Obesity and metabolic variables included: BMI>27 kg/m2, waist >88 cm for women and 102 cm for men, plasma glucose >110 mg/dl, systolic blood pressure >130 mmHg. Alcohol use was determined using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Sequential stepwise logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between the risk factors and mortality controlling by age, g...